What's the farthest realistic distance you shoot while hunting?

[teddy12b]

Hello Everyone,
         I recently found out that I live within an hours drive of a 1000 yard shooting range.  I am chomping at the bit to go there just to see how good I can shoot farther out.  I know I'm not ready for the 1000 yard line yet, but it'll be nice to at least shoot past 300 yards for a change. 
         Most of the hunting I've ever been part of has been within 100 - 200 yards, but I know out west your only limit is your ability to shoot.  With this new range I'd like to go practice/train for distances out to 500 or 600 yards maybe, but for hunting purposes is there much point of shooting past that?  I probably will just for giggles, but as far as becoming a competent shooter at farther ranges, is there much point in practicing past 500 yards?

[ncsurveyor]

Boy, this question is likely to get some diverse responses.

If your seriously interested in it, you may want to look into one of the long range hunting forums.

Practicality is an ambiguous term.  If you have an area you can routinely hunt that allows shots that far, and a target rich environment, than I would say, yes, its practical for you to acquire the skills to do this.

As far as practical for me, my typical long range distance is 400-500 yards with a limit of 600 with a 300 win mag.  In one of the areas I frequent, there is a hillside grove that is near impossible to get into undetected, but there is a premium vantage point on an adjoining hill at this distance.  This is the only time I use this rifle, aside from practice.

I have seen targets at 700-800 yards, but let them walk as I have not practiced enough at that range.    If I had an area to practice at longer distances, I would.  If I felt competent, I would not hesitate to drop them at whatever distance the gun could effectively kill.

Be prepared to be called a cervid sniper as opposed to hunter.

[flintlock]

25 yards with my bow...
100 yards with my .54 caliber flintlock...
150 yards with my .50 caliber Knight inline...
300 yards with my .243...

[NONYA]

I have killed deer elk and antelope up to 600+,beyond that i dont trust myself and my rifle to make a clean kill

[Don Fischer]

 Most of the hunting I've ever been part of has been within 100 - 200 yards, but I know out west your only limit is your ability to shoot. 

Or your inability or unwillingness to stalk! I have been living in the west most of my life and have hunted areas that would allow some very long range shooting. The longest shot I've ever taken was a bit over 400yds. It was a shot I didn't have to take. I have access to areas to shoot well over 1000 yds with a few minutes of home. I like to shoot at long range too. Most of the animals I've shot in my life have been 200yds or less. The meer fact that you can see farther doesn't mean your required to shoot farther, that is a macho thing!

One of my shooting ranges about 2 min from the driveway. To the left of the bench you'll see a dark brush down range and in the field. In front of it a small white spot. That is a measured 500yds! It's a target frame with a target attached.


A view from my back yard:


The range you shoot at is a choice, not a requirement.

[PartsMan]

I am not steady enough much over 200yd without my bench,
and I don't carry a bench in the woods.

[skb2706]

Totally disagree. I just finished an antelope hunt on the farm in eastern CO. The farm fields are flat, no cover, no hills, few drainages...flat like a pool table. You can walk a baseball out a half a mile and see it plain as day. You will not convince me that you can get very close in those circumstances. You must not have been in the west long enough to visit the farm much.
You will learn more about stalking and shooting long distance in this circumstance than any I can imagine. It has nothing to do with "unwillingness" to stalk.

This antelope was taken last weekend in eastern CO, in the wheat stubble. At best the vegetation was 10" and the view goes on for miles. Shot was 507 yds. and I can assure you there was no "getting closer". These animals will spook at a car passing by 1/2 mile away.

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[skb2706]

my sons 260 yds. .............notice the winter wheat on the ground we had for cover. It goes on for miles

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[NONYA]

I am not steady enough much over 200yd without my bench,
and I don't carry a bench in the woods.

ever heard of a bipod?

[Don Fischer]

Totally disagree. I just finished an antelope hunt on the farm in eastern CO. The farm fields are flat, no cover, no hills, few drainages...flat like a pool table. You can walk a baseball out a half a mile and see it plain as day. You will not convince me that you can get very close in those circumstances. You must not have been in the west long enough to visit the farm much.
You will learn more about stalking and shooting long distance in this circumstance than any I can imagine. It has nothing to do with "unwillingness" to stalk.

This antelope was taken last weekend in eastern CO, in the wheat stubble. At best the vegetation was 10" and the view goes on for miles. Shot was 507 yds. and I can assure you there was no "getting closer". These animals will spook at a car passing by 1/2 mile away.

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Between 1974 and 1983 I lived in Brighton, Pierce and Greeley. I'm very familiar with what eastern Colo looks like. Look at the cover behind you and your 500 yd animal. Then look at the cover behind your son and his 260 yd antelope, seeing as you brought that up. Car passing 1/2 mile away, 880 yds, spooks them but your son got to 260 yds? All you've proven is that the long 500 yd shot wasn't a necessity, it was a choice. Nice shot. How did you do it? Hold over or click adjustment? Doesn't appear to be target turret's on your scope. What range finder did you use?

[billy_56081]

I guess it depends on the animal being hunted. Hunting deer and other game species I've never had the opportunity to shoot long range. On coyotes the farthest I have shot was 880 yards. We hunt in the open plains of Southern MN and fence lines  are a fairly good range marker. I have yet to make a shot at 880 yet but I have made some that were in the 500 and 600 yards. Prairie dog hunting is a whole different game. It is fun to test your long distance shooting my best there was 596 yards. I'm not sure I would push much over 400 or 500 yards on big game though. The energy left in most bullets is getting pretty weak by that range. Being able to accurately judge the distance becomes more and more crucial as the range increases. And a 10 mile an hour wind will move most bullets quite a bit as range increases.

[beemanbeme]

You don't have any trouble with wind do you, Don?
 Often the trouble is, the folks won't really LOOK at the land.  They say, "gee, it's flat." when, in fact, it's not flat at all.  Part of the challenge (to me anyway) of hunting antelope is doping out an approach to see just how close I can get to them. 
The fartherest shot I made the entire time I hunted out west was 381 long steps. On an antelope.  I had spent a lot of time that summer working with using the plex in my rifle as a range finder and it was more of a can I do it than a I can't get closer kinda thing.  I ranged the antelope at 400 yards.  I was using a .280.  The next longest shot was under 300 yards by my son using a 7-08 on a mule deer. 
Saying, "I crawled 200 yards thru prickly pears and sand spurs" doesn't impress the non hunters around the water cooler but "I shot him at xxx yards" does.  Because they now how many football fields that is.

[Don Fischer]

Beeman, I can get lost it this. Best I don't. The farthest realistic distance I would shoot while hunting? I would not out shoot the MPBR of the cartridge I was using. For me that will always be somewhere around 300 +/- yds. There is no doubt in my mind I can kill an animal farther than that, there is also no necessity to do so. 300 yds is a very long way but within the limits of most modern cartridges shot from bolt action rifles. If I have laid out a lot of money to go some great distance to hunt some particular animal the the only thing I paid for was the hunt, the kill is not a guarantee.

[Glanceblamm]

My own would echo Don Fishers post but my case is much simpler as centerfire for deer is not legal here nor do we have those wide open spaces.
Course I can hunt those Coyotes with the .22-250 and 400yd shots are doable for myself. This is kind of moot though as I insist on making that yote come inside the 150yd mark and need to trade down to a Hornet!

In the end, I will borrow from Don again and go with the MPBR of the cartridge being used cause while you are messing with that range finder and dialing that scope, your game may just walk of on you.

[Graybeard]

Where I hunt 100 yards is a LOOOOONG shot cuz most places you can't even see that far much less shoot that far. I think in all my years of hunting in Bama I've made two shots pushing the 200 yard mark and other than those darn few exceeded 100 yards by enough to talk about. So for me 100 yards is a realistic max under my hunting conditions.

[beemanbeme]

Until I made my first trip to Co, the furtherest shot I had made on a deer was 87 long steps.  (thru the woods, it looked like a mile and a half)

[ihuntbucks]

I'm with GB on this one.Here in Bama,most of the places I hunt or anyone else for that matter,you can't see over 100 yrds clearly.Heck most of the time it's a matter 20 or 30 yrds clearly.So,for me,100-125 yrds(streching it).But more common around 50 would more accurate..........Rick

[skb2706]

Totally disagree. I just finished an antelope hunt on the farm in eastern CO. The farm fields are flat, no cover, no hills, few drainages...flat like a pool table. You can walk a baseball out a half a mile and see it plain as day. You will not convince me that you can get very close in those circumstances. You must not have been in the west long enough to visit the farm much.
You will learn more about stalking and shooting long distance in this circumstance than any I can imagine. It has nothing to do with "unwillingness" to stalk.

This antelope was taken last weekend in eastern CO, in the wheat stubble. At best the vegetation was 10" and the view goes on for miles. Shot was 507 yds. and I can assure you there was no "getting closer". These animals will spook at a car passing by 1/2 mile away.

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Between 1974 and 1983 I lived in Brighton, Pierce and Greeley. I'm very familiar with what eastern Colo looks like. Look at the cover behind you and your 500 yd animal. Then look at the cover behind your son and his 260 yd antelope, seeing as you brought that up. Car passing 1/2 mile away, 880 yds, spooks them but your son got to 260 yds? All you've proven is that the long 500 yd shot wasn't a necessity, it was a choice. Nice shot. How did you do it? Hold over or click adjustment? Doesn't appear to be target turret's on your scope. What range finder did you use?

My sons shot was a setup. We situated him at a field marker post surrounded by weeds knowing full well that a herd was very likely moving directly to him. We had them patterned after two days of determining how they moved. Once he was setup we moved off in the distance and watched from 1/2 mile out, boy takes the shot, animal drops, party over.
Mine was entirely different. We spot a decent herd of 12 from a field split road and I bail out with all my gear including rifle rangefinder and shooting sticks. Both of us used the .300 win mag Remington Sendero shooting 180 gr. Sierra GKs sighted in for 200 yd. zero. Scope is a Burris FFII with Ballistic Plex. The load is chrono'd at 3020 and the drop a 500 is 36 in. We have the opportunity to shoot at very long range very often as this is flat farm land on the far eastern edge of CO. Its not a new gig for us.
If you do the "bail and roll", slide up as far as you can antelope never notice you ....to a point (this is not at all like the Pawnee grasslands of Northern CO where the terrain allows for a stalk). This is winter wheat with no feature in the land (the area is undersubscribed year after year due to the lack of hunters willing to pursue them here). You lay flat and move on your belly but if you get busted, which happens many times the gig is up and you start over somewhere else.
I used a cheap set of Bushnell 800 yardage pros which have always been right on although not as easy to use as higher end models. I get 504-510 depending on where I sight from. Pull up the bottom line in the scope, settle it in where I want to hit, make a 10" correction for the left to right wind, let fly the evil missile and down he goes.
We don't always have to shoot that kind of distance but we have found that if you can 't shoot past 400 yds. pretty decent you are better off staying at the house and watching football.

Don - Born in Southern CO, raised in Greeley and live on the eastern slope. Hunted the Grasslands many years.............and the moutains all my life.

[PartsMan]

I am not steady enough much over 200yd without my bench,
and I don't carry a bench in the woods.

ever heard of a bipod?

Yes. I have been trying some different positions, bi pods, and shooting sticks.
I even have my brother working on a stand with a shooting rail.
In the past I have only had a tree to lean on.


My point really was that I don't shoot any further than I can.
Besides He ask.

[skb2706]

I am not steady enough much over 200yd without my bench,
and I don't carry a bench in the woods.

ever heard of a bipod?

Yes. I have been trying some different positions, bi pods, and shooting sticks.
I even have my brother working on a stand with a shooting rail.
In the past I have only had a tree to lean on.


My point really was that I don't shoot any further than I can.
Besides He ask.

Shooting sticks, they work great and they are easy to use with a little practice...........................

[Sourdough]

I often take shots out to 500 yards with my 30-06.  While I can hit things beyond that (out to 700 yards) the bullet performance is lacking beyond 500 yrds.  Now with my .338/378 I can reach on out to 800 yards.  So far I have only made one shot at 800 yards (actually 792 yards per my range finder) at a Moose and it took three steps and fell.  Hoping soon to be able to take a few shots at wolves out at a long distance.  That is why I bought that gun, to reach out and touch wolves.  And the old saying "Just learn how to stalk closer don't cut it".  Not when they are in the bottom of a snow covered valley with nothing showing higher than the snow.  The top of the nearest ridge is often close to 1000 yards, with nothing to hide behind, between you and them.  There is no way to go down that slope without being seen, so you either have to pass on the shot or learn how to make long shots.  We go out on the river bed and practice shooting at 600, 700, and 800 yards.  I have not sat and worked out the clicks needed on my scope to go on out beyond 800 yards.  I currently am using a Night Force 5X15X50 scope on rifle.  The rifle is a Weather Accumark, in .338/378 Weatherby.  I am shooting 225gr Nosler Accubond bullets, in front of 110 grs of IMR-7828.  That pushes the bullet out at 3210 FPS per my Chrony.

[Davemuzz]

I think once you get beyond a certain yardage, you then approach the "argument" of whether you are a "hunter" or a "shooter". Where I hunt in Southwestern Pennsylvania, a shot of 200 yards is considered long. Usually, you run into a hill before you get one longer than that. But there are places where you can get a 500 yard shot.....but those are few and far between and I travel by those places when I am going to a "good" area to hunt.

Not to "bash" the guys who practice the long shots, but to hunt down the whitetail, too look for the sign, their travel routes, scrapes, rubs. Get into his area when the wind is right, and setup knowing he could be in one of four or five places and set up to get close enough that your first shot is your last shot, that's hunting.

MHO

Dave

[mcwoodduck]

I sight in my rifles at 200 yards and feel comfortable taking a shot inside of 300 yards with my .308/ 375 and 400 yards with my .338 WM. 
When you sight in at 200.  Look at a Table and see how high your going to be at 100.  Get a nice tight group and dial to the + X inches.  When you put the rifle on paper at 200 yards you will not get the same nice tight group.  There are too many variables in powder, the primers, the wind, vibration of the barrel..... and on, that your group will double.  And doubles or more again at 400.  I look at the boiler room of what I'm hunting and if my grouping at that range will put the shot out of the boiler room, I need to get closer.   
I also have a range finder that goes to 450 yards.  If the Deer, elk, or what ever is outside of the 450 yards I need to sneak closer.
I have problems with holding the cross hairs above the animal and lobbing the round in.
Like many here my longest shot on a white tail was 75 yards with 00 buck till I went to Montana and the open space is amazing.  But with all the open space you have the ability to go prone and use the bipods, that are not even a thought for me in the woods of NC.  Heck my father, when I was learning to shoot would not let me practice off of a bench, prone, seated or kneeling, but made me take all shots standing.  His reasoning was you should practice how your going to hunt.  We hunted in NY at the time and it was all drive and stand, with a little still hunting.
I have only found these X ray targets at Sportsman's Warehouse but they give you a picture of a life size animal and then an X ray of the vitals and where they are located.  Good practice.

[IOWA DON]

With my .338/.378 Weatherby I get 3,330 fps with the 225-grain Nosler Accubond and 106.5 graindns of IMR 7828. That is with a barrel without freeboring (which raises pressure and velocity) and with a 28-inch Barrrel. My 4.5-14X scope has range compensating dots (for trajectory), so the problem is wind. A 10 mph crosswind makes the bullet drift 20 inches at 600 yards, so any wind more than 5 or 6 mph is too much for me for a 600 yard shot. The longest shot I have tried was 747 yards (and was successful) and that was with probably with a 3 mph crosswind. I don't shoot if the total estimated wind drift is much more than 10 inches. With guns/cartridges with lower energy, more wind drift, and more trajectory problems the maximum shooting range can be much less. For example, my 20-ga slug gun runs out of energy trajectory, and accuracy at about 200 yards, and wind drift is bad at any wind velocity. Therefore 200 yards is the very limit of its effective range on deer under the very best conditions and only if the range is measured with a laser rangfinder. Also, compared to my hunting buddies, I take much longer shots with rifles and limit myself to much shorter shots with shotguns (like birdshot on pheasants).

[The Gamemaster]

I also hunt in what is considered South West Pennsylvania - 2D and other than a gas pipeline in the Allegheny National Forrest or a strip job above Brandy Camp, there are no real places to shoot or see 1000 yards clearly.

Both of the does that I shot this year was at 50 yards or less and one of them was with a .300 Winchester Magnum and the other was with a .270 WSM!

I missed a doe bedded down in the willows one day at 65 yards, because the saplings got in the way of the bullet and the snow hid the saplings in the scope.

I use 30/06's and .270's all the time and there isn't any difference between any of them when it comes to shooting at close range.

I did belong to a long range forum and found that most of those people were nothing but fools and braggarts.   When a person goes on a forum and tells the other forum members that they took several camera's and a range finder and a bi pod rifle and back packs and a 300 ft tape measure, but couldn't get any closer than 500 yards to a whitetail deer, I'm sorry but I have a problem with that.

With a little patience and a lot of luck, you can get them to jump into the back of the truck and gut themselves out on the way up.  Long range shooting is nothing more than a competition of how far can I see and how far can I shoot.  All for bragging rights.

If I can't outsmart a deer, then I don't want to just kill it for the sport.  If I can't get up early and sit at a good place in the woods where they cross and make a good shot, then I don't deserve a deer.

When you look at the bullet drop at 500 yards with the .300 Winchester Magnum - probably 48 inches if I sighted dead on at 100 yards, there is not a lot of precision of using a hold over method and where I hunt, a tactical scope with multiple cross-hairs would just get in the way of looking for 4 points to one side which is the antler restriction where I live.

[skb2706]

Not every one hunts whitetails in the thick woods on the eastern half of the US. I want to see someone stalk deer in the middle of a winter wheat field and get closer than 500 yds. If you think it ain't huntin...try it.
Bullet drop on my .300 Win Mag is clearly marked on my scope as well as my 'come ups', but if I recall with a 200 yd. sight in it is 37 inches at 500 yds.

[Graybeard]

I hear that argument often from proponents of long range game sniping but I'm quite certain that every year plenty of the same animals you need a .300 mag to take are taken by bow hunters. That is not to say that at one single location that bow hunters would be successful but I doubt there is a county in the US today that bow hunters do not hunt in and with complete success every year. It's really more about how you want to hunt than how you have to hunt I believe.

I'm not saying one way is right and the other wrong it's just what we each prefer and there is room for both.

[NONYA]

I do both,not in the same areas though.I bow hunt in thick timber,most of my rifle hunting is sparse or no timber areas.

[ncsurveyor]

I'm not saying one way is right and the other wrong it's just what we each prefer and there is room for both.

Words to live by.

[Sourdough]

GB, I guess you are right, I could hunt the wooded areas and maybe take a wolf someday, even with my bow.  But the areas where I find wolves when I am out looking for them is above treeline, in the mountains.  And in this area there is seldom any way to stalk, and get close.  I do always try and get as close as I can, without being seen or smelled.  Wolves in Alaska are hunted and trapped, so they are well educated on avoiding man.  Some packs after being shot up after returning to an animal they have killed, or being shot on a gut pile left by a moose hunter, will no longer eat cold meat.  They only eat fresh meat they have killed themselves, and never return.  At the first hint of something wrong, they run.  Forget about using a predator call, they usually run at the first squeal.

After missing the opportunity to take a shot, when trying to get closer, I gave it up.  Then an old man who had lived here all his life taught me how to find them, and how to take them out.  He chided me for thinking like a flat lander too, and think one wolf.  His philosophy is the whole pack, so that is now my goal.  A missed wolf is an educated wolf.  He taught me to carry two guns, one for long range, and a semi-auto for close range.  I carry a Weatherby Accumark in .338/378 for the long range work, and a Ruger mini-14 for the close work.  I use a twenty round magazine in the Ruger.